''Cynoscion arenarius'', sand seatrout, sand weakfish or white trout, is a species of marine
ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...
belonging to the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Sciaenidae
Sciaenidae is a family (biology), family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the Order (biology), order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family co ...
, the drums and croakers. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is closely related to the common weakfish (''
Cynoscion regalis
''Cynoscion regalis'', the weakfish, is a marine ray-finned fish of the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers.
A medium-large, slender, marine fish, it is found along the east coast of North America. The head and back of this fish are dark ...
'') and may be a subspecies of ''C. regalis''.
Taxonomy
''Cynoscion arenarius'' was first formally described in 1930 by the American
ichthyologist
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
Isaac Ginsburg
Isaac Ginsburg (August 9, 1886 – September 2, 1975) was a Lithuanian-born American ichthyologist.type locality given as
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
. The genus ''
Cynoscion
''Cynoscion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family, Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found off the coasts of North and South America in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Many fishes in ...
'' is classified by the 5th edition of ''
Fishes of the World
''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...
'' in the family Sciaenidae, with the croakers and drums. In Florida this species hybridizes with two other species of ''Cynoscion'', ''C. regalis'' and '' C. nothus'', confirmed by genetic studies and some authors suggest that this taxon may actually be a subspecies of the common weakfish (''C. regalis'') that lacks spots.
Description
''Cynoscion arenarius'' has a body that is elongated and compressed. The upper body is silvery gray foding to silvery in the lower body. The
anal
Anal may refer to:
Related to the anus
*Related to the anus of animals:
** Anal fin, in fish anatomy
** Anal vein, in insect anatomy
** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy
*Related to the human anus:
** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving ...
and
pelvic fin
Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...
s are pale to yellowish and the
caudal
Caudal may refer to:
Anatomy
* Caudal (anatomical term) (from Latin ''cauda''; tail), used to describe how close something is to the trailing end of an organism
* Caudal artery, the portion of the dorsal aorta of a vertebrate that passes into th ...
and the soft-rayed part of the
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...
have indistinct spots. The
axil
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...
of the
pectoral fin
Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...
s and the inside of the operculum is dark. The teeth are arranged in many rows with 2 large canines at the front of the upper jaw; while the lower jaw has row of widely spaced larger teeth which grow in size towards the back of the mouth. There are no
barbels
In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whisker like sensory organ near the mouth (sometimes called whiskers or tendrils). Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the z ...
or pores on the chin but there are 2 marginal pores on the snout. The dorsal fin is incised and there are 9 or 10 spines in the part before the incision and a single spine and between 25 and 29 soft rays to its rear. The anal fin has 2 spines and 9 or 10 spines. This fish has a maximum published
total length
Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology.
Overall length
Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...
of , although is more typical, and a maximum published weight of .
Distribution and habitat
''Cynoscion arenarius'' is found in the western Atlantic Ocean where it occurs from Florida into the Gulf of Mexico as far south as the
Bay of Campeche
The Bay of Campeche (), or Campeche Sound, is a bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. The ...
in Mexico and also Belize . This is a
demersal fish
Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...
occurring in shallow coastal waters, including in the surf zone and in estuaries, where there is a sandy substrate at depths down as far as .
Biology
''Cynoscion arenarius'' undertake seasonal migrations to
spawn
Spawn or spawning may refer to:
* Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals
Arts, entertainment and media
* Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise
** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...
and to avoid high water temperatures. They swim into estuaries in the summer to breed and feed. They feed on fish and crustaceans. Eggs laid in offshore areas where the tidal currents will move them towards the shore. They have a lifespan of up to six years. During courtship and spawning the males produce a purring sound, similar to that of ''C. regalis'', which they create by vibrating a special muscle against their
swim bladder
The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ (anatomy), organ in bony fish that functions to modulate buoyancy, and thus allowing the fish to stay at desired water depth without having to maintain lift ...
. They start to produce sounds at dusk and will do so each night for the length of the spawning season.
Fisheries
''Cynoscion arenarius'' is a target species for both commercial and recreational fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. It is an economically valuable species in Mexico, particularly in
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, where it is fished for by commercial fisheries using
gill net
Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...
and hook and line. In the United States it is fished for commercially but is not as highly regarded as the spotted seatrout ('' C. nebulosus'').